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Business/Economics

Business/Economics

Bruce Johnson, Solar Farmer, discusses the tensions that come from being a solar farmer, an electric-car owner, a utility customer, and a utility stockholder. With seven years of solar energy generation behind him, Johnson shares what he has learned about the ups and downs of being a solar farmer.

Anthony Fowler, Vice President, Client Communications and Administration, GMR Marketing, explains how to connect to the consumer through experiential and emotional marketing. Fowler discusses the marketing philosophy of getting into the hearts of the consumer so you can get into their minds and stay in their lives.

Marilyn Lavin, Professor of Marketing, UW-Whitewater, delves into the systems Wal-Mart established over the years that have attributed to their success. Lavin discusses the point of sale computers, early requirements to have bar codes on every item and the integrated information and logistics systems that keep track of all sales and provide feedback to their vendors.

Stephen J. Burrows, Former CEO, Anheuser-Busch Founder, Redspider, LLC shares his experiences in global business management. Burrows discusses the management lessons he has learned including: the culture comes first, have a long term perspective, create a management system, beware of “hockey sticks” and more.

Cara Lee Mahany Braithwait, Director, Wisconsin Public Utility Institute; Scott Williams, Wisconsin Energy Institute Liaison, Wisconsin Public Utility Institute; and Terry Hottenroth, Attorney, Hottneroth Law Offices, LLC; discuss the history of power and the history of the politics that brought us to the industry that we have today.

Alan Carroll, Professor, Department of Geoscience, UW-Madison, discusses how long our fossil fuel energy supplies will last, how much it costs to secure the energy, and the consequences of burning fossil fuels.

Cara Lee Mahany Braithwait, Director, Wisconsin Public Utility Institute and Bruce Chapman, Senior Economist, Christensen Associates Energy Consulting, explain the charges on a line by line basis on electric bills. Braithwait and Chapman discuss the differences between electric co-ops and electric companies and how each arrives at their fees.